The present invention relates to a cable television billing method.
While cable television services are becoming increasingly available, the billing methods have failed to keep pace with the technology. Presently, if a customer chooses to obtain a service other than a service previously contracted for, the customer must place a telephone call to the cable television provider to have that additional service provided to him. The customer and the customer's billing account number are identified during this telephone call, and the additional service is delivered and billed for. The purchase of the service made by the customer during the call, and the delivery of the service made by the provider, are separate transactions, and do not provide for timely interaction between them. For example, under the prior art cable television methods, it is not possible for a customer to request delivery of a movie and then pause transmission or request retransmission of a portion of that movie.